Spokane Sleep Apnea Causes - Dental Causes of Sleep Apnea

One common sleep disorder that individuals may experience is sleep apnea. In fact, some twelve million Americans deal with this sleep disorder, according to the National Institute of Health. More cases may exist, but due to the difficulty in diagnosing it, there may be a number of untreated, undiagnosed individuals that are not accounted for.

Sleep apnea can be caused by a variety of reasons, dependent upon the type that is experienced. There are two common types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea (where throat muscles relax and obstruct the airways) or central sleep apnea (where the brain fails to send a message to the muscles that assist you in breathing properly). There is a third kind of sleep apnea, which is a combination of both obstructive and central, but obstructive sleep apnea is the most common, affecting approximately 84% of sleep apnea sufferers.

Sleep apnea can cause a number of complications in the individuals that deal with it. Since sleep apnea can affect the quality of your sleep at night, it can leave you tired during the day (hypersomnia) and unable to fall asleep at night (insomnia). Many individuals who experience sleep apnea, whether it be obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea, commonly complain of memory complications, increased weight gain, morning headaches, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. In addition, the safety of the individual and others are at risk when sleep apnea leaves an individual too tired to drive or operate heavy machinery, which can cause accidents and put others in danger.

Sleep apnea is a serious sleeping disorder that needs to be properly diagnosed and treated for those who suffer from it. When you fully understand the causes and diagnostic process of such an issue, you will be able to take the proper steps with your doctor to obtain the best treatment for sleep apnea and its complications.

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